5 nights is way too short to discover Istanbul. The capital of three former empires, Istanbul is like a piece of bachlava, many layers of richness and sweetness. The appetite grows by eating it and still, after finishing all the plate, you want some more. I have already posted about…

Can a shashlik kebab be so delicious that your understanding of good shashlik changes forever? So good that you keep thinking of this amazing dish that is melting in your mouth days after your lunch in Köşebaşi Levent and can’t wait to return there and experience that unique feeling? I…

Yves Camdeborde is called “the pope” of “bistronomie”. Years ago he quit his career of “chef étoilé” at Crillon and went for the democratization of gastronomy by opening La Régalade. Since 2005 Yves Camdeborde runs Le Comptoir du Relais ( 9 carrefour de l’Odéon, 75006, tel. 01 44 27 07…

As I’ve posted almost two years ago Le Temps au Temps bistro quintessentially represents the “bistronomie” idea. No “brigade” in the kitchen, three waiters for one table or expensive tableware. The pocket-size bistro on Paul Bert street has only one waiter and two people cooking. One of them is basque…

Joel Robuchon is a man of fashion. And the fashion of the moment is called Japanese food. Yoshi is the first Joel Robuchon’s Japanese restaurant in the world. It was opened in Metropole hotel in Monaco where there is one Robuchon’s restaurant already. The chef in the kitchen is 39…

Alain Ducasse is French haute cuisine, French haute cuisine is Alain Ducasse. Well, maybe not, but without doubt, he is one of the famous French chef in the world and his name has become a synonym of the French gastronomy. It was my third time at Alain Ducasse’s Parisian location…

Lobster from Tetou from my last night dinner. Usually, I don’t like lobsters because of their often chewy texture, but this one was not chewy at all and the sauce was to die for. It is made of the “lobster juice” (the water lobster was boiled), cognac, butter, lemon and…

Steamed pork buns with hoisin, cucumbers and scallions from Momofuku SSam bar and Momofuku Noodle bar. I don’t have enough words to describe the brilliance of the combination of delicate steamed buns, juicy, but crispy at the same time pork, scallions, slices of cucumber and spicy hoisin sauce. On Tuesday I…

Dining in Aida was like travelling to Japan. The sober and discrete exterior and interior, warm but reserved (in a good way) service and delicious cooking with ingredients of the highest quality. It is also the only Japanese (teppanyaki) restaurant in Paris to have a Michelin star which makes reserving…

Umu is the idea of a restaurant that I dreamt of ever since I had that very intriguing, but maybe too authentic for Westerners eyes and taste buds meal in Kikunoi in Kyoto .”Could anybody recreate the Kyoto style kaiseki meal but with a modern touch in Europe? “, I…